 Autolight and its 98,000 dealers bring you Mr. Herbert Marshall in tonight's presentation of Suspense Tonight Autolight presents part two of one of the most famous of all literary puzzles Charles Dickens unfinished novel the mystery of Edwin Grewd our star mr. Herbert Marshall Hello senator, how's our legislative leader? Hello, what's this I hear about you being up for a salt and battery? Oh, that's a stay full battery senator the autolight stay full that fit fine and famous battery that needs water only three times a year in normal car use Then you're not in trouble Not with an autolight stay full senator fiberglass mats protect every positive plate against shedding and flaking To give the autolight stay full battery longer life as proved by tests conducted according to accepted life cycle standards And my auto light battery dealer will substantiate that story Harlow He sure will senator and he's the expert who services all makes of batteries Friends to quickly locate your nearest auto light battery dealer call Western Union by number And as for operator 25 I'll gladly tell you the name of your nearest auto light battery dealer where you can get an auto light stay full The battery that needs water only three times a year in normal car use and remember from bumper to tail light you're always right with auto light And now auto light presents Charles Dickens the mystery of Edwin Grewd starring mr. Herbert Marshall hoping once again to keep you in suspense When the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness he shall save his soul alive so it has been said so it has been written But what of him who strives to turn away in torment and desperation and finds that he cannot What is it that will happen to him? What is it that will happen to me? It was on a great Christmas morning that I, John Gasper instructor in music at Cloisterham College Sought the answers to those questions I sought them within myself, within my music Within the paling stars seemed dimly through the organ loft windows But no answers came, only a memory or a dream I seemed to see a man walking alone through the deserted night blackened streets of Cloisterham The deserted streets which were suddenly no longer deserted The morning was gone, the dream was over And I was at my gatehouse lodging looking for him who should have been there Looking for the man I suddenly knew would never be there again Edwin, Edwin, yes he went to the river last night to look at the storm with Neville Landless With Neville? Yes, and he never came back. Where is he? Ask Landless where he is Neville's not home either Not home? I'll be down directly As he joined me, the great realization of what might have transpired was clearly writ upon being Chris Parker's face How did he round the number of college servants in their holiday beds and a search was begun? A search for my missing nephew, Edwin Drude, and for the dean's missing protege, Neville Landless There it is, the river. The river they went to see at the height of the storm last night You never saw them again, Jasper No, neither one returned Was there any quarrel between them? Any hint of the disagreements they'd had upon other occasion? None! The Christmas Eve didn't have gone exactly as I'd planned, they'd shaken hands Apparently it resolved their differences and when they left, they went arm in arm Tell me Jasper, whose idea was it to visit the river? Was it Neville's? I'll not cast doubt where it may be undeserved It could have been anyone's suggestion, mine, Edwin's I don't like this, Jasper There's a feeling about it all that strikes two to my bones Parker and the searching parties, they found someone, Jasper They found... You take your hands off me, what right is it? Edwin Drude is still among the missing Easy does it now, sir Take them off! Easy if you please, Mr Landless Take your hands off me, what right of you to seize my person like this? Will you take them off me? In a moment, sir, in a moment There you be, Dean Krasparko We found your man as you see Yes, Joe, I see you may release him Aye, sir, but it's belligerent he is I'd beware of him if I was you Didn't want to return with us at all, he didn't What is all this, sir? What is the meaning? I was out for an early morning walk when these laggards seized me bodily They forced me to return here and set it with by your orders As it was, Neville Aye, sir Surely there's some explanation, why? Where is my nephew, Landless? Your nephew? Yes, Edwin Drude, where is he? Why ask me, why should I know if Drude's whereabouts? Because you were the last person in his company And he's not to be found, speak, sir, where is he? Stay, stay Jasper, permit me to question him Neville, you left Mr Jasper's residence last night with Edwin Drude Aye Aye, yes, sir You went down to the river together Yes, to see the reaction of the storm upon it How long did you stay there? Well, it's ten minutes more or less And then? What Drude took leave of me Did he say where he was going then? Well, yes, to return to Mr Jasper's That was the last you saw, then? The very last, if something's happened to Drude I most certainly had nothing to do with it What are those stains upon your jacket, Mr Landless? Stains? And that walking stick you're carrying, Joe The same stains are upon it Aye, so they are Blood stains, they'd be, Mr Jasper And the stick, to whom does that belong? Why, to Mr Landless, sir We took it off him Had to, the fuss and all he was putting up Well, of course they're blood stains I fought with these men, thinking they were foot-pads If their blood has been spilled, it must be theirs or mine Neville, I think you'd best accompany us to the authorities At my suggestion, we repair to the residents Of Cloister and Lord High Mayor, Mr Thomas Sapsy And as we stood there in his parlor The rendering of authority was as I knew it would be Not unlike the person of Mr Sapsy himself Unimaginative, dull, stupid Well, gentlemen, this hall seems quite clear to me Quite clear And I am one who has spared little pain Little pain, gentlemen, in training myself to see things clearly They may be clear to you, sir, but they are far from being so to me Patience, young man, patience Justice will be done here, of that you may rest well assured Yes, well assured And now, allow me to enumerate the situation Point number one There have been several witnessed quarrels Between the two young men in question The missing Edwin drew to the here present Neville Landless The quarrels had been repaired, sir Mr Jasper himself bears witness to that I have stated it was no quarrel or apparent difference At your last meeting, Mr Landless Quite so, quite so One meeting without quarrel, several with The scales are unbalanced, I quote Particularly, one might say, as the subject or object of those quarrels Was the fiance of Mr Druud Surely, Mr Sapsy, it is not necessary to bring a young lady's name into this I apologise for the necessity, Mr Jasper But it would seem to me that the charming and delightful Mr Rosa Is truly at the heart of the matter confronting us At his heart, yes In one respect, I am forced to agree with you There is no doubt that Landless was extremely envious Of Edwin's good fortune in being betrothed of Rosa Yes, as I say, the heart Now point number two The two gentlemen disappear together into the night Point number three Mr Druud never appears again Point four Mr Landless is apprehended upon the heath Obviously fleeing close to him And is returned only by force Point five Unexplained blood stains are found upon his person On the stick he was carrying I was not fleeing close to him And the blood stains are not unexplained Circumstances indicate otherwise, Mr Landless Yes, otherwise And the taking of a fellow creature's life Is to take something that don't belong to you, you know Taking of a fellow creature? What madness is this? Oh, Mr Jasper, surely you don't believe that My interest lies only in the return of my nephew And if he is never to return in seeing that justice is rightly done Yes, precisely what I had in mind, Mr Jasper Precisely My further suggestions to Mr Sapsy were immediately carried out Packards were posted, the river dragged A feverish search began, days went by, then weeks And the end result was nothing No trace of Edwin Druud was ever found Finally, when all hope was abandoned Mr Sapsy delivered his final resolution It would appear gentlemen That the mystery of Edwin Druud Has not as yet been solved No, not solved However, certain horrible suspicions as yet remain In the interests of all concerned therefore I make the following suggestion It is that Mr Never Landless Remove his presence from the city of Cloisterham And unless there comes a time when certain Horrible suspicions no longer exist That he remain away from here forever Later afternoon of that same day I went to see Rosa We met in the garden of the seminary house You wish to see me Mr Jasper? That is a desire which has lived with me for a long while Rosa Only the unhappy circumstances of the past few weeks Have prevented its fulfillment And you feel that Mayor Sapsy's announcement Has now cleared the way for you? Not for me, for us Grief does not come to an end With an official pronouncement Mr Jasper Surely even the natural sadness you feel Must be tinged with relief Relief? You no longer faced with the prospect of a forced This tasteful marriage to Edwin You're free of your promise to your parents Now that Edwin's gone there's There's nothing to prevent our getting married at once How are getting married? I'm sorry I put it so bluntly my dear But we waited so long Kept our love for each other buried so deeply Sure you can't blame me for speaking so frankly now No And with Edwin gone there's no need for me to be silent You have my solemn word for it Mr Jasper That there is not one drop of love in my heart for you Rather only loathing and hatred Rosa I've always despised you though I tried to hide it for Edwin's sake Despised you because you pursued me with your eyes With your thoughts whispering to me in your mind Of your obscene love Even though I was engaged to Edwin Edwin the nephew you so falsely pretended Was the dearest thing on earth to you Rosa you're overwrought The strain of these past weeks You refuse to believe I can't believe it my dear Love you an old man The man I love the man I still love is Neville Landless Landless? Yes Neville the man I was going to marry What do you mean Rosa? You were going to marry Edwin No Mr Jasper You told me you were That was before Edwin and I Released each other from our vows Mr Jasper Released? Then Edwin Didn't have to die No Mr Jasper Whether Edwin was alive or dead I was free to marry the man of my choice Autolight is bringing you Mr Herbert Marshall In The Mystery of Edwin Drude Tonight's presentation in Radio's Outstanding Theatre of Thrills Suspense So our committee is investigating And what have you found Senator? That the autolight's day full battery Needs water only three times a year In normal car you Now that's not all Senator Because the autolight's day full battery Gives longer life As proved by tests conducted according To accepted life cycle standards Yes Harlow And you know what's responsible Why those fiberglass retaining mats That surround every positive plate To reduce shedding and flaking And hold the power producing materials In place And we found the autolight's day full Battery is the favorite of millions Of car owners from coast to coast Thank you Senator And see your autolight battery dealer He services all makes of batteries And he has an autolight's day full For your car if a replacement is needed To quickly locate him Phone Western Union by number And ask for operator 25 I'll tell you the name of your nearest Autolight battery dealer Where you can get an autolight's day full The battery that needs water only three times a year In normal car use And remember from bumper to tail light You're always right with autolight And now Autolight brings back to our Hollywood soundstage Mr. Herbert Marshall In Elliott Lewis' production Of the mystery of Edwin Drude A tale well calculated to keep you in Suspense How does one relate the ending of a world The stunning collapse of all that has meaning Of all that is life I will not attempt to do so For everything that can be said was said On that fateful afternoon And so the story of Edwin Drude was over All so I thought Stay here, Mr. Jasper Oh, it's you, Dottles Hey, him, what is known as old Dottles, it be Come to pay another visit to the rest In place of the old ones, Mr. Jasper No, no, no, no, Dottles There's never a fact I hadn't even noticed That I was walking past the crypt My mind was elsewhere, I imagine But perhaps you might be coming round For another lesson in burying dead bodies, Mr. Jasper What's meant by that about Dottles? Well, now I recalls one night old Dottles Give you a lesson about finding bodies of the old ones Top tier in there with his hammer he did Quirting out the hollow walls Remember, don't you? Oh, yes, yes, I believe I recall something like that An evening without anything to do, idle curiosity He could have been, Mr. Jasper Though it didn't seem as such Unless Christmas Eve he didn't What about last Christmas Eve? Well, you was down here again, Mr. Jasper Top in the walls with Dottles' hammer yourself you was You're mistaken, I was nowhere near the crypt on Christmas Eve Perhaps, perhaps And I'll wade you, you had a bottle or two Of holiday cheer beneath your belt at the time Perhaps Though I would have swore it were you You'll be, sir Thatcher is the name of Dick Thatcher Came calling, found you out Made myself at home So I note this Of mine, Muldwine Thought I'd prepare on her the occasion and all The occasion of an absolute stranger Making himself at home in my lodgings Not ordinary circumstances, hmm? Quite agree Nevertheless, honorable occasion Then perhaps you'd care to explain, Mr. Thatcher Gladly, gladly Perfect, sir But you've joined me I'm awaiting that explanation, sir I bring your greetings, sir Greetings from whom? Your dear boy, Mr. Jasper Greetings from Edwin Groot Greetings from Edwin I sent you the best Apologizes for not writing Not worried Told you, didn't I? Honorable occasion Indeed, this is an occasion, Mr. Thatcher I've been worried sick about the dear boy You found him well Blooming, best of health Where is he? Where did you meet with him? London, some lodge in house Kept meeting on stairs, natural thing Of course, quite natural Business took me to Cloister Room Told Edwin, made me promise a greeting Here I am Apologize, Mr. Thatcher Certainly, I would Toast to Edwin To Edwin Gone my way now One moment, Mr. Thatcher I must write Edwin and tell him how happy you've made me What's the dear boy's address? I haven't got it, he moved Didn't say where Then there's no more you can tell me about him Where he can be reached I see Wondering if it's a tall tale, Mr. Jasper Greetings, Noel Edwin, surely that's a possibility, Mr. Thatcher Ordinary, not now Mementos Wanted you to have him Remember him Oh, Judy's fully discharged I'll be leaving Good day, Mr. Jasper Excellent boy I just heard him leave this Mr. Thatcher I was staring at the objects He'd placed upon the table A watch and chain Edwin's watch and chain He'd been wearing them the night of the big storm The last night he'd been seen alive Mr. Thatcher One moment, please Good afternoon, Mr. Jasper What news, Mr. Jasper? It concerns Edwin Brood Edwin? Yes, he's alive, Mr. Jasper Did you hear me, Mr. Jasper? Did you hear what I said about Edwin? He's alive What an astounding statement I know I could scarcely believe it myself But here This came to me in the post today from London It's a letter from Edwin Oh, isn't it wonderful, Mr. Jasper? We were all so certain that he was dead That someone had killed him On the night of the storm And there in your very hand Is the proof that he's alive No greater horror Can visit the mind of man Than the certain knowledge he has suddenly become mad And such was the horror which worked within me That fateful day For it was the only explanation that was left Edwin was dead, he had to be The memory or dream that had lived with me Since Christmas morning was too clear Too sharply edged For there to be any doubt Edwin was dead And yet within a single afternoon Two people had bought me proof That Edwin was alive Proof was clear, as sharply edged As that memory A sane mind does not exist in a world Of such paradox I'd gone mad Time finds no haven Within the dread confines of madness Nor was that day an exception Somehow without my knowing of it The day was gone In what had been a sunlit sky A night's darkened storm Lay muttering ominously My mud-spattered gaiters Bone-weary legs Poked mutely of hours of aimless wandering The fruitless battle was that thing of horrible wonder Apart Which was now my mind And then I was where I'd been destined To be all along The one place where the truth could be found In contestable truth I entered the venerable crypt Of toaster The flashes of lightning etched In world relief, the royal habitation Of the dead Half-standing pillars of stone Assumed the attitude of watchful guardians From their sentry boxes of the night And the broken wall to which I made my way Was an ancient cat poem Concealing within it the secret that only I knew Was there I climbed to its top And looked down upon the rubbish that almost filled The hollow space between its sides A rusty spade lay nearby I seized it And began to dig There was nothing but the feverish labour Of uncovering the truth Of finding a rusted watch and chain Of possibly lie bright and untarnished on my table Of uncovering a skeletonized human hand That was incapable of writing the letter I'd seen And then the labour too became meaningless There was no watch No chain, no hand There was nothing in there but rubble Looking for something, Mr. Jasper Landrush! I asked you if you were looking for something, Mr. Jasper What are you doing here? You ordered to stay away from Christoom I came back, Mr. Jasper Why, what are you doing here? What about what? The mystery of Edwin Drude There is no mystery, Edwin Drude is alive Is he? Ask Rosa, ask Mr. Datchery, they'll tell you They know he's alive You killed him last Christmas Eve Edwin Drude is dead, he's not How could he be? If you were dead Why isn't he lying in this grave? The grave in which I... The grave in which you buried him? No, there was no grave Only a dream, it was all a dream What was a dream, Mr. Jasper? He was holding his hands around his throat Hiding his body here in this wall, it was all a dream Can't you understand? I've been driven out of my mind by a dream I didn't do it! But you did, Mr. Jasper You are a fool, Analyst, look for yourself This grave I prepared for him is empty He isn't there No, but he was here until two weeks ago Two weeks ago? That was when a London detective and I found what was left of him Datchery? Edwin Drude found the watch which identified him You told me just now how you killed him The watch? And Rosa's letter Written several years ago, reposted from London Shall we go now, Mr. Jasper? No, you took me before the authorities once Now it's my time to take you Prospect of the gallows make you happy, Jasper At least I'll go to it Knowing that I wasn't mad Suspense Presented by AutoLite Tonightstar, Mr. Herbert Marshall This is Harlow Wilcox speaking for AutoLite, world's largest independent manufacturer of automotive electrical equipment AutoLite is proud to serve the greatest names in the industry That's why during the early months of this year, as we did a year ago the AutoLite family will join together in saluting the leading car manufacturers who install AutoLite products as original equipment Our AutoLite family includes some 30,000 men and women in AutoLite plants in the United States, Canada, and many foreign countries and the 18,000 people who have invested a portion of their savings in AutoLite as well as thousands of AutoLite distributors and dealers and the many leading manufacturers who use AutoLite products as original equipment Our AutoLite family will salute the DeSoto Division of Chrysler Corporation on the next AutoLite Suspense television program If you live in a television area check the day and time of suspense so that you will be sure to see this program Next week we recreate an historical puzzle as we attempt to locate a sunken treasure The story, based on fact is called The Atomar Our star, Mr. John Hodiak That's next week on Suspense Suspense is produced and directed by Elliot Lewis with music composed by Lucian Morrowick and conducted by Lud Blusken The mystery of Edwin Drude was adapted from Charles Dickens' unfinished novel by Sydney Marshall In tonight's story Ben Wright was heard as landless featured in the cast were Betty Harford Kearns, Ramsey Hill, Charles Davis and William John Stone And remember Next week Mr. John Hodiak in Gold of the Atomar This is the CBS Radio Network